The Journal of head trauma rehabilitation
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J Head Trauma Rehabil · Aug 2002
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialAmantadine to improve neurorecovery in traumatic brain injury-associated diffuse axonal injury: a pilot double-blind randomized trial.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) caused by a high-speed transportation accident results in a mechanism of injury commonly described as diffuse axonal injury (DAI), which is associated with a reduction in dopamine turnover in the brain. Because of its affect on both dopamine and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) channels, amantadine has been the subject of considerable interest and clinical use in acute TBI. ⋯ There was a consistent trend toward a more rapid functional improvement regardless of when a patient with DAI-associated TBI was started on amantadine in the first 3 months after injury.